Review of Don't Worry Darling (2022) by Andysam — 23 Sep 2022

There are 4 things to mainly praise about Don't Worry Darling, its cast, its cinematography and music and its story.

Florence Pugh is incredible as Alice, the main character, a role that requires very similar acting skills to her breakthrough role in Midsommar, she definitely carries the movie on her shoulders. At the same time Harry Styles does a great job as her co-star, it isn't difficult to understand why some consider him the biggest heartthrob of our times, but it's also a great step for him as an actor because Jack, Alice's husband, is a complicated character that requires acting skills that maybe wouldn't be expected of someone on his second ever acting gig. The rest of the actors are all in their place too, and do an excellent job, but their characters are small, making it a film centered mostly on the main couple.

The cinematography of the movie is gorgeous, the colours and the scenography deliver the utopic 50s town making us want to be there too, as well as the music; speaking of the music there's a melody that works both as a lullaby and an alert, written by Styles himself, that accompanies us through the movie, despite being a good melody and doing its job working both in a soothing and a disturbing manner it's sometimes a bit understated, especially when is just hummed by Alice.

The story though goes in crescendo, it starts with a couple living an utopic life in an utopic town and it ends with that image breaking like the mirage it really was. It contains probably the best plot twist of the year.

On the flip side, it turns out obvious that this is the screenwriter's first attempt at a movie that contains social topics that can be difficult to get if you don't have previous knowledge of them, and it makes you wish for a more in depth explanation of the thing that's hiding behind the utopia.

Overall it's a beautiful movie that, despite the seriousness of its topics, doesn't take itself too seriously and should be enjoyable for all those who watch it with an open mind. Good directing work by Olivia Wilde who keeps proving to be one of the new directors to keep an eye on.